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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — ground
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. snap — to click
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. craft — boats
  10. can — to be able to
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cell — in biology
  13. sharp — clever
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. can — a tin
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cell — a phone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com